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Swift, NuStar and XMM-Newton observations of the NLS1 galaxy RX J2317.8–4422 in an extreme X-ray low flux state
Get PDFPreprint versionWe report the discovery of RX J2317.8–4422 in an extremely low X-ray flux state by the Neil Gehrels Swift observatory in 2014 April/May. In total, the low-energy X-ray emission dropped by a factor of 100. We have carried out multiwavelength follow-up observations of this narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy. Here we present observations with Swift, XMM–Newton, and NuSTAR in 2014 October and November and further monitoring observations by Swift from 2015 to 2018. Compared with the beginning of the Swift observations in 2005, in the November 2014 XMM–Newton and NuSTAR observations RX J2317–4422.8 dropped by a factor of about 80 in the 0.3–10 keV band. While the high-state Swift observations can be interpreted by a partial covering absorption model with a moderate absorption column density of NH = 5.4 × 1022 cm−2 or blurred reflection, due to the dominating background at energies above 2 keV the low-state XMM–Newton data cannot distinguish between different multicomponent models and were adequately fitted with a single power-law model. We discuss various scenarios like a long-term change of the accretion rate or absorption as the cause for the strong variability seen in RX J2317.8–4422
“I only know I must”: Transfiguring Irish Shame in Paula Meehan’s “Troika”
Get PDFPublished versionIn the Romantic tradition of the lyric described by Hegel, Paula Meehan’s “Troika”
offers a transfiguration of Irish shame. Situating Irish shame against the background of
systemic inequalities in the Irish state, Meehan engages the personal materials of her life in order to collaborate with the reader to transform them: from the stuff of shame, to that of dignity. Linking Hegelian transfiguration to Meehan’s transformative impulse, this essay frames “Troika” as a “national lyric”: one that functions to betray Ireland as a site where the contradictions of liberal capital have exacerbated the shameful politics of Church and State
School siting and mode choices for school travel: Rural–urban contrasts in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Get PDFPublished versionMode choices for school travel are important to children’s health. School size and siting impose constraints on mode choices, and these factors vary considerably along the rural–urban continuum. Using the Halifax Regional School Board, Nova Scotia, as a case study, this research examines the effects of elementary school size and siting on mode choices and school busing.Data for 96 elementary schools in the school district are examined for statistical relationships between school and catchment area size, rural–urban location, and reliance on school busing. To estimate potential walk ability,a mean Walk Score®was calculated for a 2.4-km pedestrian zone around each school, which represents the school board’s courtesy busing threshold. Mode choices from“hands-up”tallies at four schools were employed to calibrate the use of automobile and walking modes.In inner-city areas, pedestrian zones typically covered almost 90% of the school catchment area, and their walk ability was moderately high. However, in suburban, commuter belt, and rural zones, much less area fell within the pedestrian zone, and walk ability declined considerably. The proportion of students who walked or cycled for school travel were 40% (inner-city), 37% (suburbs), and only 5% in the commuter belt and rural zones. On the other hand, more than 80% of children who lived in the commuter belt and rural zones rode the bus, compared with 30% in the suburbs and only 6% in the inner-city areas. In both the suburban and inner-city schools, a large proportion of students were chauffeured by car.Findings suggest that post-1960 school planning for rural areas around Halifax has paid insufficient attention to the potential for children to walk or bike to school. Consequently, school consolidation and busing practices should be reconsidered in light of their negative impacts on the health and well-being of suburban and rural school children
Mapping dynamic QtL dissects the genetic architecture of grain size and grain filling rate at different grain-filling stages in barley
Get PDFPublished versionGrain filling is an important growth process in formation of yield and quality for barley final yield determination. To explore the grain development behavior during grain filling period in barley, a high-density genetic map with 1962 markers deriving from a doubled haploid (DH) population of 122 lines was used to identify dynamic quantitative trait locus (QTL) for grain filling rate (GFR) and five grain size traits: grain area (GA), grain perimeter (GP), grain length (GL), grain width (GW) and grain diameter (GD). Unconditional QTL mapping is to detect the cumulative effect of genetic factors on a phenotype from development to a certain stage. Conditional QTL mapping is to detect a net effect of genetic factors on the phenotype at adjacent time intervals. Using unconditional, conditional and covariate QTL mapping methods, we successfully detected 34 major consensus QTLs. Moreover, certain candidate genes related to grain size, plant height, yield, and starch synthesis were identified in six QTL clusters, and individual gene was specifically expressed in different grain filling stages. These findings provide useful information for understanding the genetic basis of the grain filling dynamic process and will be useful for molecular marker-assisted selection in barley breeding
Imaging the molecular interstellar medium in a gravitationally lensed star-forming galaxy at z = 5.7
Get PDFPublisher versionAims. We present and study spatially resolved imaging obtained with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) of multiple 12CO(J = 6 − 5, 8−7, and 9−8) and two H2O(202−111 and 211−202) emission lines and cold dust continuum toward the gravitationally lensed dusty star-forming galaxy SPT 0346-52 at z = 5.656.
Methods. Using a visibility-domain source-plane reconstruction we probe the structure and dynamics of the different components of the interstellar medium (ISM) in this galaxy down to scales of 1 kpc in the source plane.
Results. Measurements of the intrinsic sizes of the different CO emission lines indicate that the higher J transitions trace more compact regions in the galaxy. Similarly, we find smaller dust continuum intrinsic sizes with decreasing wavelength, based on observations at rest frame 130, 300, and 450 μm. The source shows significant velocity structure, and clear asymmetry where an elongated structure is observed in the source plane with significant variations in their reconstructed sizes. This could be attributed to a compact merger or turbulent disk rotation. The differences in velocity structure through the different line tracers, however, hint at the former scenario in agreement with previous [CII] line imaging results. Measurements of the CO line ratios and magnifications yield significant variations as a function of velocity, suggesting that modeling of the ISM using integrated values could be misinterpreted. Modeling of the ISM in SPT 0346-52 based on delensed fluxes indicates a highly dense and warm medium, qualitatively similar to that observed in high-redshift quasar hosts.</p
Green criminology and the corporate extraction of water in Canada
Get PDFv, 197 leaves ; 29 cmIncludes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 168-197).Inadequate government regulation of for-profit corporate water extraction is a significant issue in Canada but lacks scholarly research, notably in the field of criminology. The thesis aims to examine and critically analyze, from a green criminological perspective, issues associated with groundwater extraction in Canada for the commercial production of bottled water. Specifically, the research examines the extent to which for-profit corporate water extraction in Canada constitutes a green crime. Focusing on an exploration of the issues surrounding the Nestlé bottled water plant in Ontario, this thesis explores how notions of green crimes and green harms regarding corporate water extraction are conceptualized by four parties involved in the case study (i.e., the state, Nestlé Waters Canada, non-governmental organizations, and the local community). Based on definitions founded on a mixture green criminological literature and the findings from this case study, it is suggested that corporate water extraction should constitute a green crime
Improved spectral line treatment and stellar atmospheric modelling for ChromaStarPy
Get PDF1 online resource (vii, 34 pages) : colour illustrationsIncludes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (page 34).ChromaStarPy is a stellar atmosphere and spectrum modeling code written in python designed to give good approximations of stellar spectra, whilst being easily accessible to students at a wide range of levels. We present several projects including: 1) Incorporating a more accurate interpolation of temperature-dependent partition functions; 2) Fitting more realistic limb darkening curves to surface intensity distributions; and 3) Using a new model atom treatment for spectral lines. The new limb darkening curves are based on least-square fitting of linear and quadratic limb darkening laws to the surface intensity distribution separately at each wavelength, and for the Johnson-Bessel filters. In doing so more accurate limb darkening coefficients (LDCs) are produced. The improved partition function treatment is based on fitting a cubic interpolation function to the variation with temperature and produces smooth variations of number densities of elements in each ionization stage with depth. The new model atom treatment allows us to improve the treatment of natural line broadening, producing line profiles that are closer to the observed line width
Media discourse : a compare and contrast of language used to portray female offenders in Canada and China
Get PDF1 online resource (39 p.)Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (p. 35-39).Many studies were done to reveal that individual’s perception towards certain group of people is established and influenced by outside sources. Female is considered the vulnerable group in the society and their presence in media is usually sensitive, especially with the case of female offenders. Their actions are distorted and exaggerated, and a wrong image of female offenders is delivered to the public. This phenomenon is not exclusive to one country, but prevails in many other countries and cross different cultures. This paper aims to compare and contrast how female offenders are portrayed by media in Canada and China. All 44 articles collected from Toronto Stars, Beijing Legal Times, and Wang Yi were categorized and analyzed through the use of content analysis, seven themes were created to help the researcher conclude and analyze the patterns in regard to female offender’s misrepresentation in media. The results have showed that while Canadian media is less likely to objectify female offenders than its Chinese counterpart, both countries’ media tend to adhere to patriarchal values when depicting them
Characterization of apatite within the Mactung W (Cu,Au) skarn deposit, Northwest Territories : implication for the evolution of skarn fluids
Get PDF1 online resource (89 pages) : illustrations (chiefly colour)Includes abstract and appendices.Includes bibliographical references (pages 78-80).Skarn-hosted apatite from the Mactung deposit, Selwyn Basin, Northwest Territories, Canada, is characterized to understand the chemical evolution and signatures of mineralizing fluids. Petrography and rare earth element (REE) abundances constrain three generations of fluorapatite, each of which record distinct moments in the system’s evolution. Type-i apatite occur with detrital phosphate nodules. This apatite contains variable ΣREE+Y (1314 ± 821 ppm, 1σ, n = 78) and show negatively sloping chondrite normalized REE+Y (REE+YN) patterns with variable LREEN/HREEN (LaN/LuN = 27 ± 30) and weak Eu anomalies (EuN/EuN* = 0.6 ± 0.2; Eu* = √SmN*GdN). The REE abundances of phosphate nodules from Mactung are similar to those reported in unmineralized units at Howards Pass in the Selwyn Basin. These REE patterns are similar to that of type-i apatite, suggesting that type-i apatite are recrystallization products of phosphate nodules, likely during isochemical contact metamorphism. Hydrothermal type-ii apatite occur with skarn assemblages and are divided into two sub-types: i) early type-ii apatite occur in prograde skarns and show high flat lying REE+YN patterns (e.g., ΣREE+Y = 17194 ppm, LaN/LuN = 3.5, n = 31 ) with negative Eu anomalies (e.g., EuN/EuN* = 0.1) and ii) later type-ii apatite occur in retrograde skarns and show bowl shaped to negatively sloped REE+YN patterns, reflecting low MREE content (e.g. LaN/SmN = 10.2, SmN/LuN = 0.3, n = 17), and positive Eu anomalies (e.g., EuN/EuN* = 14.3). Type-iii apatite are associated with quartz-scheelite veins, which cross-cut prograde skarn. These apatite contain high ΣREE+Y (7752 ± 496 ppm, n = 3) and exhibit bowl-shaped REE+YN patterns, corresponding to low MREE (LaN/SmN = 8 ± 0.3), and no Eu anomaly. The REE patterns and paragenesis of hydrothermal apatite (i.e. type-ii and type-iii) indicate the presence of two chemically distinct ore fluids during the different stages of mineralization of the Mactung deposit. The first fluid is associated with prograde skarns and early type-ii apatite, whereas the second fluid, recorded in late type-ii and type-iii apatite, formed retrograde skarn and quartz veins. The REE+YN patterns of late type-ii and type-iii apatite record a MREE fractionation through early crystallization of MREE-rich minerals
Victims, agents, or both? : a critique of the global humanitarian discourse on the subject of child soldiers
Get PDF1 online resource (iv, 54 pages)Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (pages 51-54).The phenomenon of child soldiers is one of the most pressing global humanitarian crises facing the world today. It concerns up to 250,000 children participating in several armed conflicts around the world. In the late 20th century, the international community started taking drastic measures to eliminate the recruitment and use of children, under the age of 18, in armed conflicts. The international commitment to protect children prompted international organizations (IOs), nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and governments to portray all child soldiers as vulnerable victims of armed conflict and forced recruitment. The victimization of child soldiers opens up a debate on whether all child soldiers should be considered victims given that several studies indicate that children are not always forced to join armed forces and groups, but rather, some among them deliberately choose to do so. Therefore, this essay seeks to question the narrative of the victim, often put forth by the global humanitarian discourse, as the dominant explanation of child soldiers' participation in armed conflicts. This essay argues that the narrative of the victim fails to fully capture the complexities of the definition of childhood, child soldiers' narratives, and the local realities that child soldiers face. This essay seeks to develop a holistic approach that takes into consideration both narratives of child soldiers and endeavors to provide a more profound understanding of the complexities of why and how children become child soldiers. The ambition of this research is threefold: first, to explore the existing state of child soldier recruitments and narratives, second, to address the determining factors behind child participation in armed conflicts, and third, to examine the effects of the global humanitarian perspective and practices on local African communities and former child soldiers